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ous coordinated program of research, consumer information, producer information, and promotion designed to strengthen the cattle and beef industry's position in the marketplace, and maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets and uses for United States beef. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to mean, or provide for, control of production or otherwise limit the right of individual cattle producers to produce cattle or beef.

SEC. 3.2 As used in this Act

DEFINITIONS

(a) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Agriculture or any other officer or employee of the Department of Agriculture to whom there has heretofore been delegated, or to whom there may hereafter be delegated, the authority to act in his stead.

(b) The term "person" means any individual, group of individuals, partnership, corporation, association, cooperative, or any other entity. (c) The term "cattle" means live domesticated bovine quadrupeds. (d) The term "beef" means the flesh of cattle.

(e) The term "beef products" means products produced in whole or in part from cattle, exclusive of milk and products made therefrom. (f) The term "producer" means any person who owns or acquires ownership of cattle: Provided, That a person shall not be considered to be a producer if his only share in the proceeds of a sale of cattle or beef is a sales commission, handling fee, or other service fee.

(g) The term "producer-buyer" means a producer who buys cattle. (h) The term "producer-seller" means a producer who sells cattle. (i) The term "United States" means the fifty States of the United States of America and the District of Columbia.

(j) The term "promotion" means any action to advance the image or desirability of beef and beef products.

(k) The term "research" means any type of research to advance the desirability, marketability, production, or quality of cattle, beef, and beef products.

(1) The term "consumer information" means facts, data, and other information that will assist consumers and other persons in making evaluations and decisions regarding the purchasing, preparation, and utilization of beef and beef products.

(m) The term "producer information" means facts, data, and other information that will assist producers in making decisions that lead to increased efficiency, lower cost of production, a stable supply of cattle, and the development of new markets.

(n) The term "marketing" means the sale or other disposition of cattle, beef, or beef products, in any channel of commerce.

(o) The term "commerce" means interstate, foreign, or intrastate

commerce.

(p) The term "transaction" means the transfer of ownership of cattle or beef through a sale, trade, or other means of exchange.

(a) The term "slaughterer" means any person, specified in the order or the rules and regulations issued thereunder, who slaughters cattle, including cattle of his own production.

BEEF RESEARCH AND PROMOTION ORDER

SEC. 4.3 To effectuate the declared policy of this Act, the Secretary shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, issue and from time to time

#7 U.S.C. 2902.

$7 U.S.C. 2903.

amend an order applicable to producers and slaughterers. Such an order shall be applicable to all areas in the United States.

NOTICE AND HEARING

SEC. 5. Whenever the Secretary has reason to believe that the issuance of an order will tend to effectuate the declared policy of this Act, he shall give due notice and opportunity for hearing upon a proposed order. Such hearing may be requested and proposal for an order submitted by an organization certified pursuant to section 15 of this Act, or by any interested person affected by the provisions of this Act, including the Secretary.

FINDING AND ISSUANCE OF AN ORDER

SEC. 6. After notice and opportunity for hearing as provided in section 5, the Secretary shall issue an order if he finds, and sets forth in such order, upon the evidence introduced at such hearing, that the issuance of such order and all the terms and conditions thereof will tend to effectuate the declared policy of this Act.

PERMISSIVE TERMS IN ORDER

SEC. 7. Any order issued pursuant to this Act shall contain one or more of the following terms and conditions, and except as provided in section 8, no others:

(a) Providing for the establishment, issuance, effectuation, and administration of appropriate plans or projects for advertising, promotion, producer information, and consumer information with respect to the use of cattle, beef, or beef products and for the disbursement of necessary funds for such purposes: Provided, however, That any such plan or project shall be directed toward increasing the general demand for cattle, beef, or beef products. No reference to a private brand or trade name shall be made if the Secretary determines that such reference will result in undue discrimination against the cattle, beef, or beef products of other persons. No such advertising, consumer education, or sales promotion programs shall make use of false or misleading claims in behalf of cattle, beef, or beef products, or false or misleading statements with respect to quality, value, or use of any competing product.

(b) Providing for, establishing, and carrying on research, market development projects, and studies with respect to sale, distribution, marketing, utilization, or production of cattle, beef, or beef products, and the creation of new products thereof, to the end that the production, marketing, and utilization of cattle, beef, or beef products may be encouraged, expanded, improved, or made more acceptable, and the data collected by such activities may be disseminated, and providing for the disbursement of necessary funds for such purposes.

(c) Providing that slaughterers shall maintain and make available for the inspection such books and records as may be required by any order or regulations issued pursuant to this Act and for the filing of

47 US.C. 2904. 57 U.S.C. 2905. 7 U.S.C. 2906.

reports by such persons at the time, in the manner, and having content prescribed by the order or regulations to the end that information and data shall be made available to the Beef Board and to the Secretary which is appropriate or necessary to the effectuation, administration, or enforcement of the Act, or of any order or regulation issued pursuant to this Act: Provided, however, That all information so obtained shall be kept confidential by all officers and employees of the Department of Agriculture and of the Beef Board, and by all officers and employees of contracting agencies having access to such information, and only such information so furnished or acquired as the Secretary deems relevant shall be disclosed by them, and then only in a suit or administrative hearing brought at the direction, or upon the request, of the Secretary, or to which he or any officer of the United States is a party, and involving the order with reference to which the information so to be disclosed was furnished or acquired. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit (1) the issuance of general statements based upon the reports of the number of persons subject to an order or statistical data collected therefrom, which statements do not identify the informaion furnished by any person, (2) the publication of general statements relating to refunds made by the Beef Board during any specific period, which statements do not identify any person to whom refunds are made, or (3) the publication by direction of the Secretary of the name of any person violating any order, together with a statement of the particular provisions of the order violated by such person. Any such officer or employee violating the provision of the subsection shall, upon conviction, be subjected to a fine of not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment for not more than one year, or to both, and if an officer or employee of the Beef Board or the Department of Agriculture, he shall be removed from office.

(d) Terms and conditions incidental to and not inconsistent with the terms and conditions specified in this Act and necessary to effectuate the other provisions of such order.

REQUIRED TERMS IN ORDER

SEC. 8. Any order issued pursuant to this Act shall contain the following terms and conditions:

(a) Providing for the establishment and appointment, by the Secretary, of a Beef Board which shall consist of not more than sixtyeight members, and alternates therefor, and defining its powers and duties which shall include only the powers (1) to administer such order in accordance with its terms and provisions, (2) to make rules and regulations to effectuate the terms and provisions of such order, (3) to receive, investigate, and report to the Secretary complaints of violations of such order, (4) to recommend to the Secretary amendments to such order. The term of an appointment to the Beef Board shall be for three years with no member serving more than six consecutive years, except that initial appointment shall be proportionately for one, two, and three years: Provided, That the Beef Board shall appoint from its members an executive committee, consisting of not less than seven nor more than eleven members who are broadly repre

17 U.S.C. 2907.

sentative of the industry, with authority to employ a staff and conduct routine business within the policies determined by the Beef Board.

(b) Providing that the Beef Board, and alternates therefor, shall be composed of cattle producers appointed by the Secretary from nominations submitted by eligible producer organizations, associations, general farm organizations, or cooperatives, within the geographic area, and certified pursuant to seetion 15, or, if the Secretary determines that substantial number of producers are not members of or their interests are not represented by any such eligible organizations, associations, or cooperatives, from nominations made by such producers in the manner authorized by the Secretary so that the representation of producers on the Board shall reflect, to the extent practicable, the proportion of cattle produced in each geographic area of the United States as defined by the Secretary: Provided, That the Beef Board shall from time to time, with the approval of the Secretary, redesignate representation on the Beef Board so as to reflect the proportion of cattle in each geographic area: Provided, however, That each such designated geographic area shall be entitled to at least one representative on the Beef Board.

(c) Providing that the Beef Board shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (g) of this section, develop and submit to the Secretary for his approval any advertising, sales promotion, consumer information, producer information, research, and development plans or projects, and that any such plan or project must be approved by the Secretary before becoming effective.

(d) Providing that the Beef Board shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (g) of this section, submit to the Secretary for his approval budgets on a fiscal period basis of its anticipated expenses and disbursements in the administration of the order, including probable costs of advertising, promotion, producer information, consumer information, research, and development projects. The Beef Board shall also submit copies of such budgets to the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. (e) Providing, that—

(1) In each transaction where a producer sells or otherwise transfers ownership of cattle to any other producer, each such producer-seller shall pay to the producer-buyer and each producer-buyer shall collect from the producer-seller an assessment based on the value of the cattle involved in the transaction. Each producer who sells to a slaughterer or otherwise arranges for the slaughter of his cattle shall pay to the slaughterer and the slaughterer shall collect from such producer an assessment based on the value of the cattle involved. The slaughterer shall remit assessment(s) collected to the Beef Board in the manner prescribed by the order or the regulations issued thereunder, including any assessment (s) due at time of slaughter on cattle of his own production. In the event no sales transaction occurs at the point of slaughter, a fair value shall be attributed to the cattle at the time of slaughter for the purposes of determining the assessment: Provided, That the Beef Board may exempt from or vary the assessment on transactions of breeding animals or

classes of breeding animals until time of slaughter: Provided further, That cattle slaughtered for his own home consumption by a producer who has been the sole owner of such cattle shall not be subject to assessments provided in this Act: Provided further, That the Beef Board may collect directly from any producer any assessments that he collected under the provisions of this Act, which are not passed along in the usual manner due to the loss in value of the cattle.

(2) The rate of assessment shall be as prescribed by the order except the aggregate rate shall not exceed one-half of 1 percent and shall provide for such expenses and expenditures, including provision for a reasonable reserve, and any referendum and administrative costs incurred by the Secretary under this Act, as the Secretary finds are reasonable and likely to be incurred by the Beef Board under the order during any period specified by him.

(3) To facilitate the collection of assessments, the Beef Board may specify different procedures for slaughterers, or classes of slaughterers, to recognize differences in marketing practices or procedures utilized in the industry.

(4) The Secretary may maintain a suit against any person subject to the order for the collection of such assessment and the several district courts of the United States are hereby vested with jurisdiction to entertain such suits regardless of the amount in controversy.

(f) Providing that the Beef Board shall maintain such books and records and prepare and submit such reports from time to time to the Secretary as he may prescribe, and for appropriate accounting by the Beef Board with respect to the receipt and disbursement of all funds entrusted to it.

(g) Providing that the Beef Board, with the approval of the Secretary, may enter into contracts or agreements for development and carrying out the activities authorized under the order pursuant to section 7 (a) and (b) and for the payment of the cost thereof with funds collected pursuant to the order. Any such contract or agreement shall provide that such contractors shall develop and submit to the Beef Board a plan or project together with a budget or budgets which shall show estimated costs to be incurred for such plan or project, and that any such plan or project shall become effective upon the approval of the Secretary, and further, shall provide that the contracting parties shall keep accurate records of all of their activities and make periodic reports to the Beef Board of activities carried out and an accounting for funds received and expended, and such other reports as the Secretary may require.

(h) Providing that no funds collected by the Beef Board under the order shall in any manner be used for the purpose of influencing governmental policy or action, except as provided by subsection (a) (4) of this section.

(i) Providing the Beef Board members, and alternates therefore, shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses incurred in performing their duties as members of the Beef Board.

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